SDG 6: Clean Water and Sanitation | SDG 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities | SDG 13: Climate Action | SDG 17: Partnerships for the Goals
Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs | Ministry of Jal Shakti
UN-Habitat has found that the global water crisis is increasingly an urban challenge, with extreme water stress now observed in major metropolises including Beijing, New York, Delhi, and Rio de Janeiro. Currently, half of the world’s 100 largest cities are experiencing high levels of water stress, where water withdrawals for public and industrial use frequently exceed available resources. This urban concentration is projected to intensify as the city-dwelling population rises, with urban water demand expected to increase by 50–70% over the next three decades.
The Shift to “Global Water Bankruptcy” UN researchers have formally suggested that the world has entered an era of “global water bankruptcy,” a post-crisis state where water systems can no longer realistically return to their historical baselines. For many cities, this trajectory is leading toward a Day Zero scenario, where municipal services reach a total breaking point.
Insolvency and Irreversibility: Systems are deemed bankrupt when long-term water use and pollution exceed renewable inflows, leading to the irreversible loss of water-related natural capital like aquifers and wetlands.
Projected Impact: By 2050, roughly 1.9 billion urban residents are projected to experience seasonal water shortages, placing unprecedented pressure on frontline institutions.
Utility Vulnerability: Over 285,000 utilities worldwide are central to delivering water services, yet many remain under-resourced and increasingly exposed to climate shocks.
Human and Health Implications Urban water stress disproportionately affects the 1.1 billion people living in slums and informal settlements. These residents often pay significantly higher prices for water than middle-class citizens with municipal connections. Inadequate supply and contamination remain primary drivers for waterborne diseases, which kill an estimated 3.5 million people annually. Furthermore, intense water scarcity and “water bankruptcy” are becoming major drivers of fragility, displacement, and social conflict.
What is the “Day Zero” emergency mentioned in UN-Habitat reporting? “Day Zero” refers to the catastrophic point at which a city’s municipal water supplies are near complete depletion, requiring the shutdown of taps and the implementation of emergency water rationing at centralized collection points. While some cities have narrowly avoided this through severe restrictions and rapid drilling, Kabul is currently cited as being on the brink of becoming the first major city to officially run out of water entirely.
Policy Relevance
The shifting landscape of urban water security requires a transition from reactive “crisis management” to structural “bankruptcy management.”
Empowering Frontline Utilities: Achieving SDG 6 requires a central role for local governments and public water operators, using non-commercial peer partnerships to translate commitments into resilient services.
Rebalancing Natural Capital: Governance must shift from treating water solely as a commodity to protecting the hydrological cycles, soils, and wetlands that produce and store water.
Equitable Infrastructure Investment: Policy must prioritize the 1.1 billion residents in informal settlements to bridge the “inequality gap” in water pricing and tenure-linked access.
Restructuring Water Claims: Learn from the financial sector to “stop the bleeding” by restructuring unsustainable industrial and agricultural water claims to protect essential human services.
Relevant Question for Policy Stakeholders: How can the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs and the Jal Shakti Ministry collaborate to institutionalize a 'National Urban Water Security Buffer' that prioritizes the health and dignity of India's 483 million urban residents against the threat of 'Day Zero' events?
Follow the full news here: Why the world’s water crisis is increasingly an urban challenge | UN-Habitat